Wataru Seken wa oni Bakari
Details *'Title:' 渡る世間は鬼ばかり *'Title (romaji):' Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari *'Also known as:' Making It Through / Relentlessness is Found Everywhere *'Format:' Renzoku drama, across 10 seasons *'Genre:' "Kitchen sink" soap opera *'Broadcast network:' TBS *'Broadcast time:' Thursday 21:00 to 21:54 *'Original Soundtrack:' Wataru Seken wa oni Bakari OST Synopsis Wataru is based on the life of Okakura Daikichi, a father of five daughters. Daikichi owns Okakura, a 5-star Japanese restaurant most people can only dream of dining. The storylines are based on each of the five daughters' lives, ranging from bitchy mother-in-laws, the kids, their husbands, and so forth. The second oldest daugther is Kojima Satsuki. She is married to Isamu, who's family runs Koraku, a typical Chinese ramen restaurant. Satsuki and Isamu have two kids, Ai and Shin. Isamu's mother, Kimi once lived with the Kojima family (their home is upstairs, in the same building as Koraku). Due to declining health, Kimi moved to the United States and is living with her daughter Hisako. As of the 8th season, Hisako moves back to Koraku, and attempts to earn back her birthright. Satsuki's biggest problem is having to deal with Hisako, as well as Seiko who is very loyal to Kimi and Hisako. Because Satsuki has to work all day at Koraku and tend to her immediate family, she has no time for herself, or even for her four other sisters and her father. The other sisters include Noda Yajoi, Takahashi Fumiko, Munakata Yoko, and Honma Nagako. Yajoi is a retired nurse, and has to deal with her divorced daughter Akari and her grandson. Fumiko runs a travel agency; she too has a problem with her son, Nozomi, who chose to become a guitarist instead of attending college. Yoko is an interior decorator and was recently married. And Nagako is a housewife who married into the Honma family. The Honma family are all physicians, who run Honma Hospital. --''groink'' Review by groink The formatting of Wataru is very much like an American daytime drama (called a "soap opera") in that 1) it is continuous and never-ending, and 2) there are about a dozen or so different storylines going on in just a single season. For the average Japanese drama fan who is used to today's idol rom-com renzoku dramas, he would probably be turned off by Wataru because of its length, its topics, and massive confusion with the different storylines. Despite the differences, most people who do give Wataru eventually become addicted. In earlier seasons, the focus among the five daughters were about even. In later seasons (Season 3 and up), I'd say about 50-percent of Wataru is focused on the Kojima family. I find their situation, along with Nagako's, to be the most interesting. If you like family dramas, and have patience to watch for one year, Wataru is a MUST watch. In Japan, Wataru is HEAVILY marketed via merchandise -- from plastic figurines to Koraku-brand instant ramen. As of this writing, there are eight completed seasons. --''groink'' Season Information *'Season 1:' 1990-Oct-11 to 1991-Sep-26 (49 eps, avg=18.2) *'Season 2:' 1993-Apr-15 to 1994-Mar-31 (49 eps, avg=23.8) *'Season 3:' 1996-Apr-04 to 1997-Mar-27 (50 eps, avg=26.6) *'Season 4:' 1998-Oct-01 to 1999-Sep-30 (51 eps, avg=24.7) *'Season 5:' 2000-Oct-05 to 2001-Sep-27 (50 eps, avg=24.3) *'Season 6:' 2002-Apr-04 to 2003-Mar-27 (51 eps, avg=23.5) *'Season 7:' 2004-Apr-01 to 2005-Mar-31 (51 eps, avg=18.2) *'Season 8:' 2006-Apr-06 to 2007-Mar-29 (50 eps, avg=18.1) *'Season 9:' 2008-Apr-03 to 2009-Mar-26 (49 eps, avg=15.3) *'Season 10:' 2010-Oct-14 to 2011-Sep-29 (47 eps) Specials *1994-Sep-29 *1995-Dec-28 *1999-Dec-23 (23.0 rating) *2000-Apr-06 (20.9 rating) *2012-Sep-17, 2012-Sep-24 *2013-May-27, 2013-Jun-03 *2015-Feb-16, 2015-Feb-23 *2016-Sep-18, 2016-Sep-19 *2017-Sep-18 (12.6 rating) *2018-Sep-17 *2019-Sep-16 User/Viewer Ratings Cast (Research and translations by groink) Production Credits *'Screenwriter:' Hashida Sugako *'Narration:' Ishizaka Koji (石坂浩二) *'Music:' Haneda Kentaro (羽田健太郎) *'Production:' Inoshita Yasuo (井下靖央), Kawamata Komei (川俣公明), Yoshikawa Atsushi (吉川厚志) *'Producer:' Ishii Fukuko (石井ふく子) *'Director:' Yamada Nishiki (山田錦) Notes *To the native Japanese speaker, the conversational style of Wataru is very un-natural, which may explain its unpopularity towards younger viewers. The characters tend to speak in long monologues - in some cases as long as two minutes non-stop for a character. Hashida Sugako explains the reason for the long monologues: "In this drama, the families are arguing throughout the year. But in our everyday lives, discussing things thoroughly happens so rarely. That's why having the couple or the parents and their kids come to an understanding by having long talks make the drama interesting." *''Wataru'' is a highly recommended watch by teachers of the Japanese language, for beginning Japanese language students because the characters speak using keigo (polite use of kokugo, the national language of Japan.) ' *The title Wataru Seken wa oni Bakari is a take-off on the proverb "Wataru seken ni oni wa nai," which means that you will find many kind people in the world. The title of the drama apparently means the opposite. *Of all the prime-time Japanese dramas aired between 1984 and 2003, Wataru was the 5th highest rated drama (29.6 average, in 1997). Ironically, Wataru was also the highest rated drama NOT starring Kimura Takuya (beaten by 1. Hero (34.2), 2. Beautiful Life (32.3), 3. Good Luck!! (30.4), 4. Love Generation (30.1)) Further Reading *Hashida Sugako: Wataru Seken wa oni Bakari. Shueisha 1996. ISBN 4-08-748509-9 *Valaskivi, Katja: Wataru seken wa oni bakari. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in a Japanese television drama. University of Jyväskylä 1995. ISBN 951-34-0644-X Recognitions *'70th Television Drama Academy Awards:' Special Award External Links *Official site *Official English site *Japanese Wikipedia *[https://web.archive.org/web/20071006004958/http://www.kikutv.com/shows/index.html KIKU Show Listing (look for Making It Through)] Category:TBS Category:JDrama Category:JDrama1990 Category:JDrama1993 Category:JDrama1996 Category:JDrama1998 Category:JDrama2000 Category:JDrama2002 Category:JDrama2004 Category:JDrama2006 Category:JDrama2008 Category:JDrama2010 Category:JDrama2012 Category:JDrama2013 Category:JDrama2015 Category:JDrama2016 Category:JDrama2017 Category:JDrama2018 Category:JDrama2019